My True Hero
by spopococ
Summary: As a group of Shinra SOLDIERs and guards arrives in Nibelheim, a young boy learns that sometimes heroes aren't everything you thought they were, and that others can rise from unlikely places. OC. Oneshot for 10,000 profile views! Thank you -loves-


Thanks for 10,000 profile views, kids! Sadly, it wasn't ready when I actually hit 10,000, so it's more like 10, 300 or something? ANYWAY, this is a little bit of a random story. Basically, I just kept thinking 'What would it have been like for the people of Nibelheim when Sephiroth set it alight?'

This is pretty much what resulted, through the eyes of a little boy from Nibelheim. I guess he's kind of based off the kid in Crisis Core that gives "The Seven Wonders" quests. I've dubbed him Luke. Lol. Did he _have_ a name? O.o I dunno, I haven't played Crisis core for AGES. ANYWAY, I certainly hope you enjoy.

**Warnings: **Not many, really. For once, no pairings. A little bit of swearing, but nothing major. There might be some inconsistencies, just because I haven't played Crisis Core for ages.

I don't own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters etc.

--

There was always a certain smell around here that you never really got anywhere else on the world. At least, that was what my mum said. I'd never actually left the town, and that on its own was something all too common to the people who lived here with me. It wasn't that we were completely cut off from civilization; it was just like we lived in another world... I guess that doesn't make all that much sense, but when it took over two days to walk to Rocket Town, pretty much the only people we ever saw were locals and the occasional traveler in need of supplies. There were those people, and of course, Shinra. They were an ever present force around the town and it was always a guarantee that if you so much as tried to take a peep into the Shinra manor or sniff around the reactor, they'd be onto you like the lapdogs they were. Okay, to be honest, I didn't really know what a lapdog was, but it was the general consensus from everyone around here. What can I say? Kids are impressionable. One thing I _really_ didn't get though was why everyone made such a fuss about it. Didn't one of the guys who used to live here actually leave town to head to Shinra with ambitions of SOLDIER? Shouldn't people be ok with Shinra for that reason?

"Luke!"

Awww crap... Mum was on the rampage again, you could hear it in her tone, despite her being half way across the town.

"Yeah mum?" I yelled back as loud as I could.

"You better not be near that mansion!"

Yeah, ok, should probably move before she finds me here...

--

She looked at me kind of funny as I played with my vegetables and I figured it would probably be a good idea to force some of them down. I managed to choke down some broccoli, much to her apparent approval, before she reached over and took the plate out from underneath me.

"I was eating them, I swear!" I responded automatically, and she raised an eyebrow.

"No point in you complaining about it. Go and get ready. I expect you to eat some later..."

My mum: the almighty General. I snorted a little on my soda at the mental image of mum even trying to prop up Masamune and she turned a critical gaze to me.

"Luke?"

"Nothing... I'll go get ready."

She let out a soft sigh as I headed up the stairs and flung open my door. I couldn't help but grin though. As soon as it swung open, every time without fail, my life size poster of Sephiroth would be the first thing you'd see. I remember begging mum for months before my birthday for it, as well as a toy replica of Masamune, and she'd finally caved in and had it shipped from Junon. Ok, maybe I was the only one in town who could appreciate the glory that it was, considering that they all thought Shinra boys were laptops or something, but it was _mine_. That on its own was something pretty damn awesome in the eyes of a nine year old. I played with it most of the time, swinging it through the air like Sephiroth might, and it always brought a shiver of excitement to my spine. Someday, I'd do what that other guy did, and I'd be off to join SOLDIER to fight alongside the General.

I asked mum about him a little at dinner time and she'd screwed her face up slightly, like it was an uncomfortable subject or something.

"He lived down the road. Mrs. Strife's son," she remarked casually, throwing an almost paranoid glance to the window, as if expecting Mrs. Strife to pop up out of nowhere. I didn't blame her. Mrs. Strife was pretty nice to me, cooked some great food, but she was a little off the rocker if you get what I mean. Mum said she was eccentric, but I'm pretty sure that's just a nice way of saying she was bonkers...

"His name's Cloud," she continued, as she hacked at her pork chop, "He's not terribly too much older than you."

"I never saw him," I shrugged, and mum smiled a little sadly.

"He kept to himself, just like his mother. You know the boys around his age..." She stopped talking then and I figured it was because I _did_ know the boys his age, and they sucked. I'd had a little flash of a memory involving Cloud and that really pretty girl, Tifa. Apparently they'd fallen off a bridge or something; a lot of people were pretty irked up about it. I looked up at the poster on my wall and tried to copy the way Sephiroth was standing. If I was SOLDIER First Class, I totally would have saved both Cloud _and_ Tifa. I'd be a town hero and I'm pretty sure Lucy from down the road and maybe even Tifa would dig me for that... yeah...

"Luke!"

Gaia mum, any peace at all?

"Yeah mum?"

"Are you getting ready? Because I haven't heard you brush your teeth yet!"

Oh yeah... Fudge nuggets...

--

"I don't get why I have to go..."

"Because you are a member of the town, and you are a child, which is exactly what the mayor is expecting to show up."

Damn mum and her logic. Ok, so, town meeting. We weren't too sure why, but I guess it'd have to be pretty important. A helicopter with the Shinra logo had landed just outside town about half an hour ago and that usually meant something big was going down.

"Will they have food?"

"If you had eaten your vegetables, you wouldn't be so hungry..." Mum gave me that 'what have I told you before?' look, so I just kinda shrunk into my collapsible chair. I perked up pretty quickly though, as Mrs. Strife tottered down the aisle and smiled at me. I gave a little wave for Mrs. Strife to come over, before my mum hissed slightly between her teeth.

"What?" I asked, and mum shook her head, beaming at Mrs. Strife as she got closer.

"Olinda, how lovely to see you!" Mum smiled sweetly, and something about it was a little creepy. Mrs. Strife didn't seem to notice though as she took mum's hand and shook it.

"You too, Carol!" 'Olinda' smiled, much less creepily. I kinda liked Mrs. Strife's smile. It was always like she was trying to warm you up without putting a hand on you. Mum's smile at the moment looked liked she was getting ready to head for the mountains. She eased up a little when Zane showed up and sat on the opposite side of her. She shook his hand, and so did Mrs. Strife, before mum turned to Zane and remarked "What do you think these lapdogs want now?"

I threw a sideways look at Olinda, and her smile seemed a little sadder.

I didn't listen to what mum and Zane were talking about. I was too interested in the necklace that Olinda had around her neck. I felt pretty sprung when she then toyed with it a little and smiled widely.

"Do you like it, Luke?"

"It's pretty cool..." I shrugged, trying to push away my earlier eagerness. Instead of nodding and turning away though, she unclasped it and held it out for me to look at. It was a silver chain with an elaborate little silver heart locket on it. I gave her a glance before opening it, and she nodded in approval. Ah... so this is Cloud, huh? He looked pretty cool. Kinda girly though...

"Is that your son, maam?" I asked, and she laughed.

"You can call me Olinda if you like sweetheart, I'm not like the other grown-ups."

Tell me about it...

"Uh... kay... Is that your son... Olinda?"

"It sure is. My little sky Cloud. Although, from what I hear, he's not so little any more. He eats too much for his own good, as put by him," She smiled, before rolling her eyes slightly, "But he may just be saying that to make me happy."

Happy? Who wants a fat kid? I guess my imagination was a little overactive, as my thoughts immediately jumped to Hansel and Gretel.

"Attention!" A voice called out suddenly, and I tried to sit up a little straighter to peer over some fat guy's head. He must be from Shinra. Everyone in Nibelheim was born weedy. The guy calling out to everyone was a bit of a weed too though. Black hair, beard, kinda tall and looking like he was gonna poop himself.

"Hello! Uh... hello everyone..." He smiled widely, as the noise died down, "My name is Reeve Tuetsi and I will be your town representative for Shinra tonight. Any queries or suggestions you make will be noted by me."

Get out of here... A skinny guy in Shinra? Awesome.

"Uh, tonight's meeting is just raising some concerns Shinra has, and uh, providing you with some new information!" Reeve smiled widely, clapping his hands together in what I gathered to be an honest gesture.

"I'll hand you over to your mayor," Reeve smiled, "Thanks for coming."

There was a small round of half hearted clapping and stuff, but none of it seemed all that genuine. The mayor got up, waffled on a little about the turnout, said he was supporting Shinra blah, blah, blah... Then, completely blowing my theory out of the water, weedy guy number two from Shinra took the stage. God, he gave me the creeps. He introduced himself as Hojo from the Science Department of Shinra, and I figured he meant he was one of the experiments. He looked like a cross between a weasel and a snake. Either way, creepy. He pretty much said for all the kids to continue to stay away from the mansion and particularly the reactor. Said something about there being 'sensitive materials' in there. I think the only thing he did was make us want to go in there more.

Olinda simply sat in the chair next to me and frowned slightly, her thoughts obviously a few thousand miles away with her little sky Cloud, and I couldn't blame her. Something about Hojo just threw me off...

--

It's been two weeks since those Shinra goons had come here, and to be quite honest, only one major thing had changed. For some reason, there were more monsters straying into town from the reactors. There was another town meeting about it, but nobody took their kids this time, so me and a few of the other guys from school snuck out of our rooms to go and listen in. Mum would have had a seizure if she knew I was out at this time of night, especially with all the monster sightings and stuff, but we just _had_ to know. Turns out that Shinra had their eyes on the problem, and were sending SOLDIERs out to deal with it. Real life SOLDIERs would be coming to _our_ town. We'd run back to our houses as the meeting started to disband, and I threw myself back on my bed, my eyes latching on to the giant poster on my wall. What if they sent _Sephiroth_ here? Good Gaia, I could maybe even _meet_ him. And oh, what about Mrs. Strife's boy? What if _he_ was coming? We hadn't heard if he was actually _in_ SOLDIER or not, but he'd been there for this long without coming home, so it had to be a certainty. Maybe he'd be just like his mum, weird but really sweet. Maybe he'd look just like he did in that little silver locket. I lay back on my pillow and pulled my quilt over me as I heard mum coming up the stairs to check on me. I wanted to ask her if she ever spoken to Mrs. Strife's little sky Cloud, but she always seemed to avoid those conversations like the plague. It was pretty much completely dark outside, except for the light glow resulting from the blanket of stars that came out when it was clear. It didn't happen often, but when it did, it was something to set your sights on. I closed my eyes abruptly though, as the crack of light under the door suddenly became a light curtain across my room, as mum opened the door and softly called out my name. I don't know how long she was there for, the darkness surrounding me eventually subduing the excitement racing through my mind, as I drifted off to sleep.

--

My breath caught in my throat, and I heard Joey beside me do much the same. We'd been waiting all week for this, ever since we'd heard who exactly it _was_ that they were sending to Nibelheim. Not only was Zack Fair here, Lieutenant First Class, but _Sephiroth_. I told myself as soon as I got home I'd take down my poster. It really did the guy no justice. He just looked so… _cool._ I felt kinda bad for Mrs. Strife though. Zack and Sephiroth were the only two SOLDIERs that came, and apart from two Shinra guards, they were the only people the company had sent. Seemed like her little sky Cloud wouldn't be visiting after all. I looked around and saw her then, standing at the doorway of her house as she looked at the four Shinra personnel, with a soft smile on her face. She really didn't seem that bothered by Cloud not being there, but she said nothing, and three of them disappeared into the local hotel. One stood outside, keeping guard, and Mrs. Strife walked over to him, speaking in a low murmur, as he shook his head, gesturing at the hotel. She smiled and thanked him, nodding and patting his shoulder, before heading back to her house. Yeah, she was a little odd, but she was real nice, and now that Sephiroth and the others weren't looking to come out any time soon, everyone kind of split up and left too. I headed for Mrs. Strife's house, and cautiously knocked on the door. Mum told me I probably shouldn't be visiting her, in case the lady started putting weird ideas in my head, but I liked her.

"Oh!" She beamed as she opened the door, "Come in, Luke."

I half-heartedly wiped my shoes on her doormat, giving an uncomfortable gaze in the garden gnome by her door's direction. That thing was creepy.

"How's it going Mrs. Strife?" I asked, and she gave a soft sigh, placing a light hand on my shoulder.

"Olinda, dear," She said softly, almost sadly, "I'm not like the other parents, so it's okay."

"Yeah, everyone else says that too," I blurted, before realising that it wasn't the nicest thing I could have said. She didn't seem bothered though. In fact, she laughed, tapping my nose.

"I know," she winked, "People don't like it when others are different. It makes them uncomfortable because they don't know how to deal with it. I had to deal with a lot of the other parents when their own boys and girls were less than polite to my little boy. People didn't like that either."

She closed the door and I took a seat on the bed near the door. I found it a bit weird that she had such an open house and not much in it, but it felt different to my house. Mum usually had this thing where she'd keep everything _insanely_ tidy, and like… I dunno, sometimes it didn't feel like anyone lived there. Here, it was a little messy and all, but it was warm. There were pictures all over the place, mainly of Cloud or Mrs. Strife, but sometimes they were of another guy, with brown hair and a big bushy moustache. He had these really bright blue eyes, and when he was in pictures with Mrs. Strife, he drew a lot of the attention from her own pretty green ones. I noticed there was only one picture of the man with a baby Cloud, and they looked a lot alike, you know? Had the same ears, and the same smile, and _definitely_ the same eyes. Must have been Mister Strife. No-one really talked about him, but I'd figured out that he'd left town sometime ago. I felt kinda bad for Mrs. Strife and all, having to have raised Cloud on her own when the poor guy got bullied and stuff. Mrs. Strife smiled over at me, as I kept looking at the photos, before she cleared her throat a little.

"Would you like to meet Cloud, Luke?" She asked softly, her smile never leaving her pretty face, "I saw you boys before looking over at the General. I'm sure he'd have some stories to tell."

"Sure would, Olinda ma'am!" I grinned in spite of myself, but my smile wavered a little, "That is to say, whenever Cloud might visit."

"He's coming for dinner tonight. Perhaps your mother would let you join us?" She asked, and my heart skipped a beat. I probably wasn't ever gonna get the chance to sit with someone who worked so close to the General ever again. Then there was the whole fact that I'd have to ask mum.

"I'd love to… Olinda ma'am, but… I dunno what my mum will say," I shrugged, and she smiled sadly, understandingly.

"No harm in asking. Why don't you go ask? You can come by at 6 for dinner if she says yes," She nodded, and I smiled, thanking her and heading for the door.

--

I figured mum would be mad. Heck, I figured she'd throw some kind of a parental tantrum. Instead, she did something that was kind of… weird.

"When you go over there again, Luke," She said seriously, placing a hand on my shoulder, "You find out as much about that Cloud lad as you can, alright? Ask about _everything_, okay?"

"Alright," I mumbled, averting my gaze, but she forced me to meet it again.

"It's important, okay? Then you can come back and tell me about everything you learnt, okay?" She nodded, causing me to nod awkwardly, almost against my own will. Then, she let me go. She actually _let_ me hang out at Mrs. Strife's. It wasn't so bad, actually. I'd gotten here a little before Cloud, and was waiting on Mrs. Strife's couch, whilst she handed me a glass of lemonade and a few homemade ginger snaps.

"I know you like them," She smiled softly, "I see you eating them on the way to school sometimes."

I nodded eagerly, "They're my favourite, actually."

My mum didn't even know that. She gave me ginger snaps because she thought they were a little better for my teeth. She'd always say 'Don't complain about getting them', but the thing was that I never did. I felt a little sad then, realising that Mrs. Strife seemed to pay more attention to what I liked and didn't like then ma did.

"Oh!" Mrs. Strife grinned then, practically leaping off the sofa as a figure approached the door. "Here he is," she cried, as she flung open the door and one of the Shinra guards from earlier slipped inside.

"Hey mum…" A soft murmur came, as Mrs. Strife flung her arms around the figure's shoulders and smiled widely.

"Oh baby, it's so good to have you home!" She laughed, and I watched as tears fell from her eyes. She really loved her son, and as he took off his helmet and gave her a hug back, his eyes showed that he really loved his mum back.

I sat back and watched for a few minutes, before a pair of bright blue eyes met mine in startled surprise. I suddenly felt like I shouldn't be there; like I was seeing something that he didn't want anyone to see. Mrs. Strife must have felt him tense, as she turned her gaze in my direction.

"Oh, this is Luke," She smiled, "He's here for dinner tonight. He's Carol from down the road's boy."

Cloud frowned slightly at this, turning his gaze skeptically to his mother, before dropping his voice. I don't think he knew I could still hear him though.

"_Carol's_ boy? Mum, you know that that woman has been giving you hell the moment you came here," He murmured, "Why would you-"

"Because people should be judged from their own actions, not the people they're associated with," Mrs. Strife jumped in, seemingly firmer than usual. Cloud gave a small sigh, but nodded just the same.

"Luke's a lovely boy. Has aspirations to join SOLDIER some day, and he is most certainly _nothing_ like his mother," Mrs. Strife finished, before turning back to face me. I didn't know whether it was right to feel a little proud of that fact that people said I _wasn't_ like my mum. Didn't everyone want to be like their parents?

"This is Cloud, Luke," She smiled warmly at me, as Cloud gave a small, seemingly forced smile in my direction. I forced a smile myself, and Mrs. Strife picked up on it. She turned to Cloud, who gave a soft sigh, before walking over to me.

"Hi," He smiled, a little softer this time, "Sorry... I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"That's okay," I nodded meekly, and he stuck out his hand for a handshake. I paused slightly, realising I was about to shake the hand of someone who had most likely shaken _Sephiroth's_. I forced that thought away though, Mrs. Strife's words still echoing in my ears.

"_People should be judged from their own actions, not the people they're associated with."_

I took his hand and shook it, smiling widely, before Mrs. Strife gave a soft smile of her own and suggested I head upstairs to wash up before dinner. I guessed that her and Cloud probably wanted some alone time, so I headed up, catching some brief parts of their conversation as I went up there. Cloud was lying back on the bed by the door, staring at the ceiling, as Mrs. Strife flitted about and asked questions about how well he was being treated. She started asking about Cloud not having a girlfriend, and I was tempted to stay and eavesdrop, but it didn't feel right. Not many people talked about Cloud around here, with the exception of Tifa. She was often stopping by Mrs. Strife's house and asking about him, and she was always the first person to ask for the papers the moment they arrived in town. She kept an eye out for him, everyone knew that, but still, she never really told anyone what he meant to her. We could all see it though, and it kinda made me wonder why he'd been avoiding her before. I scrubbed at my hands in the bathroom and whistled a little as I dried them off. I caught sight of another bedroom across the hall and cautiously peered through the half open door.

"Wow…" I murmured out loud, in spite of my attempts to be quiet. It had to be Cloud's room. The walls had posters of Sephiroth, and of President Shinra, and of all sorts of war posters too! There were also a few posters of chocobos, which I found kinda weird. Chocobos were kinda… girly. I shrugged anyway, and headed back downstairs, to where Cloud was now at the dining room table, looking absent-mindedly out the window as Mrs. Strife chattered away.

We sat down to dinner then, as Mrs. Strife served up roasted Jumpings and all sorts of different potatoes. Cloud gave a grateful smile as he started shoveling down the food.

"It's my favorite," The guard smiled bashfully in my direction, as if offering an explanation.

"They probably don't feed you this kind of stuff back at Shinra, huh?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"Stuff with more protein in it mainly," Cloud nodded, "Although they serve a killer dessert."

"Not as good as mine, of course," Mrs. Strife winked, as her son gave a light laugh, his eyes glowing slightly as he did so.

"Hey, do you have any mako in you, Cloud?" I asked, as I prodded at a roast potato, and dipped it in some gravy, before stuffing it in my mouth.

"Just a little bit. It's mainly to stop me from getting too sick or hungry when out on missions," The blonde frowned slightly, "It… doesn't make me any stronger or anything…"

Mrs. Strife smiled a little sadly, and placed a hand over Cloud's.

"You're plenty strong, Sky Cloud," she smiled a little softer, "And the only thing stopping you will work itself out."

"Yeah," I nodded, "You look heaps stronger than me, and I bet that if they're sending you on missions with General Sephiroth that Shinra think you're pretty cool too."

Cloud smiled at me then, and I felt my cheeks warm. He was really nice, and it was weird to see him smile. It really suited him, and he made me feel… comfortable.

"Thanks, Luke," Cloud nodded, as Mrs. Strife nodded too.

"He's right, Cloud," She smiled, squeezing his hand, "The only thing keeping you from SOLDIER is yourself, and I mean that in the best way possible, you know that."

Cloud nodded, squeezing Mrs. Strife's hand, before pulling away and continuing to eat his dinner.

"Mum says you want to be in SOLDIER too," Cloud smiled almost cheekily at me, "I bet you have a poster of Sephiroth somewhere."

I blushed even deeper, but nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah, on my wall," I mumbled, and he nodded.

"I always wanted to be like Sephiroth."

"What's he like in person?" I asked, maybe a little too eagerly, and he looked down at his plate briefly, still smiling, flicking his eyes to his mum, before returning to me. He was seemingly holding back a grin from bursting forward.

"He's… Everything you've imagined," Cloud grinned, boyish charm flitting along his features, and it made me remember for a few minutes that he wasn't all that much older than me.

"How does he fight?" I asked, almost breathless, as Cloud's eyes lit up with the excitement.

"Like a legend!" He cried, his arms flailing slightly, before Mrs. Strife offered a chiding frown. He cleared his throat bashfully and picked at his food, but you could tell he wanted to say more.

"What about Lieutenant Fair?" I asked, and Cloud's smile became decidedly… softer.

"He's really nice," Cloud nodded slightly, "He looks after me, and he makes friends with all of the guards and the other SOLDIERs. I got a little motion sickness on the way over here, but he helped me out."

"Is he a good fighter?"

"Yeah. He's really, really good," Cloud nodded feverishly, "Except for a little of Sephiroth's help near the end, Zack nearly finished the Wutaian war _single handedly_."

"Wow!" I gaped, as Cloud smiled again.

It was like that for a few hours. Cloud told me about all kinds of missions he went on, and he told me stories about Lieutenant Fair, and General Sephiroth, and he told Mrs. Strife about all the different sights he'd seen in Midgar. When Mrs. Strife went to the bathroom, Cloud told me a little about the Turks, as if he didn't want his mum to hear, and he even told me about this one time he'd met the president himself. Cloud was really nice, and he treated me like an equal, not like a little kid, just like Mrs. Strife did. They were both treating me like a person, and I loved it. All too soon though, it was heading to eleven, the time my mum had asked me to be heading back home. Cloud offered a small nod to Mrs. Strife as she mentioned that Cloud should be heading back too; after all, she didn't want him getting into trouble. So, we both let Mrs. Strife's house after we thanked her for dinner, and Cloud started to walk me home. Before we left though, he pulled his helmet back on, and turned his head towards Tifa's house as we passed.

"Does Ti-… Do the Lockhearts still live there?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Yup. Mr. Lockheart and Tifa still do," I paused, somehow knowing Cloud didn't want to talk about it, but I asked anyway, "Do you like her?"

He let out what seemed like a 'hmph', but said nothing else for several moments.

"I did, once…" He shrugged, "But I was different to the other kids, I guess. Do you like anyone?"

"I kinda like a girl called Lucy, down the road. Anyway, who cares if you're different?" I asked, "You're really cool, you know?"

He turned to face me and smiled from underneath his mask, before he ruffled a hand through my hair.

"Lucy and Luke huh?" He smiled, pausing as it became a little softer, "And you're pretty cool too, Luke."

I grinned in spite of myself, and he stopped as we reached my house. The lights were still on, so mum must have been waiting for me. I thanked Cloud, said it was nice meeting him, and that I'd see him around. He gave me a clap on the shoulder and smiled shyly, before saying he'd see me around too.

I opened the door and stepped inside, as mum watched him go from behind the keyhole.

"So that's Cloud Strife?" She asked, and I nodded, smiling widely, before she rolled her eyes a little.

"All that fuss over a _guard_?" She scoffed. My heart sunk a little as I climbed the stairs and slipped soundlessly into bed, my eyes settling on the giant poster of Sephiroth, and kind of wishing I had one of Cloud and Zack too. Who said you ever had to be in SOLDIER to be a hero anyway?

--

Tears were falling down my eyes, as the other townspeople around me screamed and cried with me, the heat of the flames licking at our skins, as the adults searched for survivors. How did this happen? _How_? But I knew; I _knew_ how this had happened. Sephiroth is how this happened. My _hero_ had destroyed everything I knew and loved. My throat was tight, knowing mum was still inside, and that she'd made no sign of coming out. I called out for help, but it was lost among the other identical cries from the others. There were bodies across the town's ground, some alive, and some that… I didn't want to think about. Then, there was movement as a figure ran from the hotel, into the smoke and heat, and looked around. He ran to Mrs. Strife's house, and I sunk to my knees as he came out, shaking his head in what appeared to be heartache. Mrs. Strife was… She wasn't ever going to be able to smile, or laugh, or… I sobbed, and it drew the figure towards me.

"Hey! Hey kid!" The figure called, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me roughly.

"My mum's… My mum's still inside," I sobbed, and he nodded, running into the burning building. I'd recognised the figure's features, and felt a little more reassured. That was Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class, and he was _sane_… It wasn't all of them, it was just _Sephiroth_… Zack could still help us, he could, and I was so sure of- Where was Cloud? What happened to Cloud?! My chest tightened again, before my thoughts were ripped back to my mother, as Zack emerged with her limp body.

"She's alright, kid," He nodded, "She just breathed in a lot of smoke, okay?"

I nodded, and he knelt before me, placing mum on the ground beside me

"Get out of here, okay?" He urged, "Get you and your mum out of Nibelheim, alright?"

"But I…"

"You can do it, SOLDIER," He smiled reassuringly, but he had a fear flashing through his eyes, and my heart flooded with mixed emotions. Did I _want_ to be a SOLDIER? It was a SOLDIER who did _this_, but it was a SOLDIER who saved my mum…

I stood, and the Lieutenant placed a hand on my shoulder again.

"Now… Listen to me for a second… Where did he go?" He asked seriously, and I pointed towards the reactor, where I'd seen those glowing green eyes head towards no more than fifteen minutes ago. I felt a chill run through my spine then, as he drew a giant sword from his back, and a similar green glow to the demon's flooded the Lieutenant's eyes.

"Lieutenant Fair?"

"This has to end here," Zack murmured, squeezing my shoulder and running off for the reactor.

"Zack!" I called out, but he wasn't listening. Mum coughed and spluttered then, and I looked down at her in relief.

"Mum, mum!" I cried, shaking her, as she opened her eyes, "We have to go, mum. We have to get out of here."

She groggily stood and I helped her walk to the well, to flush her eyes with water and cool her skin. It was then that I spotted him, a figure on the ground in a blue Shinra guard outfit, and my heart stilled.

"Cloud!" I cried, as I ran over to him, my mother's call of my name going un-noticed by my ears. I fell to the ground when I reached him and searched for a pulse. He was alive! Oh Gaia, thank you; thank you so much…I shook him a little, and he seemed to slowly be coming to, but I didn't have much time to find out, as I felt a strong grip on my shoulder, and Zane pulled me from Cloud's side.

"Zane!" I gasped, "Is he alright?"

"He'll be fine, Luke."

"Have you seen Lucy?" I asked urgently, and he frowned a little.

"Lucy is fine. Head back to your mother."

"What about Mrs. Strife?"

"Head back to your _mother_," He said gruffly, and holding his fierce eyes, I reluctantly did as I was told.

"Luke, for the love of Gaia, don't _ever _do that shit again!" She sobbed, pulling me against her chest and wrapping her arms around me for the first time in a long time. I knew then that she was scared. My mother was frightened for the first time I'd seen her to be in my life. She then struggled to her feet and took my wrist firmly in her hands, before she headed for an old cart just on the outskirts of town. She opened the latch for the stables and lead one of the startled horses out, which I then helped her attach to the cart.

"We need to go, baby," She urged, "Get on the cart."

"But what about Jeremy, and Andrew, and Mrs. Strife?"

"For the love of Gaia, they're _dead_ Luke!" She snapped, her sobs racking her body, "Now get on the cart!"

I felt the words piercing my chest, and she kissed my forehead apologetically.

"I'm sorry baby, but we _need_ to get on the cart," She said softly, her voice strained, "_Please_ get on the cart…"

I clambered on obediently, and she climbed up beside me, taking the reigns of the startled horse.

There was always a certain smell around here that you never really got anywhere else on the world; it was fresh, and full of life, and somehow, I guess it was kind of even like… love. Now, though, there was nothing but smoke, and burning timber, and the decaying stench of death. What had once been the lifeblood of Nibelheim, had now represented the town's death and destruction.

"Where are we going, mama?" I asked, as she threw an old, musty blanket over me and held me down in the cart.

"Anywhere we can, honey," She soothed, as she urged the horse to take us from the town.

"What about Nibelheim?"

She was silent for a long time. Maybe she was thinking about Sephiroth, like I was. Maybe she was thinking about Cloud too, or Zack, or of all our friends that we'd never seen again. Whatever it was that she was thinking about brought fresh tears to her eyes, as she ran a hand over my head.

"Nibelheim's dead, baby," she whispered, almost choking on the words.

To me, Nibelheim wasn't the only thing that died that day, and it wasn't the only thing up in flames. My dreams of SOLDIER went with it, along with the image of a silver haired 'hero', and my desires to be just like him.

--

I still think about Nibelheim sometimes. They rebuilt it years and years ago now. My boy sometimes asks what Nibelheim was like before the fire, but I don't usually have the heart to recall it. Lucy and I had somehow, by the will of Gaia, found each other in Rocket Town, and we'd built a life there. And as for Nibelheim? Nibelheim, to me, was freshly baked ginger snaps and a glass of lemonade, and a dinner with two of the recurring images in my dreams…

My son Zack played out in the garden now, a replica buster sword sailing through the air in concentrated maneuvers, and a poorly made blonde wig atop his head. His friend fought against him, a replica Masamune in his hands. Zack grinned as they fought, and it sent a little chill of eerie familiarity through my blood.

"I'm Cloud Strife, hero of the world! You'll never beat me, Sephiroth!" Zack grinned wider, as he fought and 'stabbed' his friend. His friend fell, feigning an epic death, as he dramatised his performance, ensuring 'Cloud' was listening. 'Sephiroth' was never the victor in their games, and he was often argued over. Whilst my childhood had been disputes of who would get to play Sephiroth, Zack's were filled with arguments of who would play Cloud. I smiled a little as Lucy placed a hand on my shoulder from behind, and smiled softly down at me. She knew, as she always did, as the two boys got to their feet.

"I don't _want_ to be Sephiroth," Zack's friend whined, as Lucy let out a soft sigh at the ensuing argument.

"Do you remember when you used to be like those two?" She asked, and I nodded, as she headed out to play the part of mediator. Zack came inside shortly after, a scowl along his features.

"Dad, it's not _fair_," he huffed, "Jordan went off to play with the _other_ boys, and one of them comes from _Gongaga_."

"What's so bad about that?" I asked, and he scowled dramatically.

"Do you know what those people are like?! It's weird to go and play with those guys…"

I gestured for him to come over and he stood before me, dejectedly.

"People should be judged from their own actions, not the people they're associated with," I said firmly, and he raised a brow.

"…Why?"

I gave a soft smile, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Because you'll never know who's going to be the next hero, Zack," I said gently, and he rolled his eyes.

"_Fine_," He huffed, "I'll go play with the stupid kid."

I shook my head slightly, still smiling, as he ran from the house, the blonde wig on his head bouncing and becoming slightly lopsided on top of his head.

Not everyone knew the full story of Cloud Strife, or what he was like before Meteor, or the Remnant Fiasco. Lucy sometimes asked me why I hadn't let Zack know all about it, and she asked that again now. The truth was that every time I'd tried, I'd still see that startled look of surprise from bright blue eyes at finding a private piece of his existence on show, and my words would fall short.

"Because Cloud's a hero now," I replied, "And sometimes it's easier to see a hero as a figure on your bedroom wall, then to know the reality."

"But Cloud's different to what Sephiroth was," Lucy argued, and I smiled.

"Yes. But in the end, he's just a man," I shrugged slightly, before leaning back in my chair and watching the boys run down the street. She gave up then, and headed for the bathroom with a resigned shrug of her own. Yes, to the boys, Cloud Strife was a hero. In my mind, however, he'd always be Olinda's little Sky Cloud, uncertain of his future and all too timid about his past, fighting for the memory of a friend three times lost, and fighting for the legacy of one _true_ SOLDIER.

For them, he was an indestructible being and nothing short of a hero; and as children, they need not know any better.

--

**A/N:** Hrmm, there's a _lot_ of my OC here. I dunno if people like that. XD hahaha. ANYWAY, thank you for over ten thousand profile views! I love you all. x)


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